Published on 04:36 PM, March 12, 2023

Miraz turns the screws on England at Mirpur turner

Miraz was the star of the show with his best figures of 4 for 12. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Mehedi Hasan Miraz bowled his best spell in T20 Internationals as Bangladesh, chasing a series win against England, bowled the visitors out for 117 in the second T20I in Mirpur on Sunday.

Sending England into bat, Shakib Al Hasan & Co dictated terms right from the word go, and their domination increased as the innings went on. With the Sher-e-Bangla surface offering a lot of grip and turn for the slower bowlers, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, in for Shamim Patwary for this match, turned the screws on England with his best figures of four for 12. 

The off-spinner started with Moeen Ali's wicket, swept to midwicket, and then accounted for Sam Curran and Chris Woakes, both all-rounders bamboozled by the grip and turn from the spinner, with wicketkeeper doing a great job on both occasion. Miraz's last wicket, off his last delivery, was a gift from Chris Jordan though as it was a rank long hop which the England lower-order batter just couldn't hit out of the park.

It was in fact a surprise to see Shakib bring on a spinner for the first time in the sixth over on a wicket like this, the bowler Nasum Ahmed got hit for 13 and never came back. 

The pacers, however, did a good job as Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud got wickets in their first spells while Mustafizur Rahman struck in his last.

Skipper Shakib got a wicket too, but the star of the show definitely was Miraz. Ben Duckett was the top scorer for England with 28, followed by Phil Salt (25).